Happily Ever After ?
by merciki
Summary: One-Shot. Discover Charlotte, Ranger and Stephanie's daughter. A Babe Story, but friendly to Cupcakes :)


As in France, we're already the 16th of May .. so ... Happy Birthday, Dog_in_the_Manger! This is for you.

* * *

The control room was silent. In fact, it was almost deserted. Tank looked around, noticing the cubicles were empty, except for Lester's, which was overcrowded. He stealthily made his way towards it before starting to speak.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

Most of the men jumped when they heard Tank's voice and moved quickly back to their own cubicles. Lester, however, remained in his seat and turned to his friend, smirking. "The principal called. Grab a seat. It's going to be massive."

Stephanie was pacing Ranger's office, her heels echoing in the silence of the room. Tears were making her blue eyes sparkle, and she couldn't keep her hands still.

"I mean, what did we do wrong? I can't believe she got a detention. A detention! What will it be next? Will we have to pick her at the police station?"

"Babe, calm down. She's learning. She needs to know where the boundaries are. And we did nothing wrong. She has quite… a temperament. I bet you had detentions too, when you were in school."

"Me? Never! My mom would have killed me and make me disappear!"

Ranger chuckled as he pushed a keyboard key. "I seem to recall you got a detention in high school for almost destroying the chemistry lab."

"It wasn't my fault! Someone switched the products and it went all kaboom! And how do you know that? I never told you!"

"So maybe it's the same thing for Charlotte. We won't know until we talk to her."

"But the principal wants to talk to us tonight after class…. you're coming along, right?"

"Sorry, Babe, got that meeting I have to attend. It's been scheduled for weeks, and I can't postpone it now. We would risk losing the contract."

"Tank can handle the meeting, right? You have to come with me!"

Ranger rose from his seat, and turned around his large wooden desk. Even after ten years of being together and nine years of marriage, Stephanie was always moved by how handsome he looked. And today, wearing his charcoal Armani suit with matching shirt and tie, he looked more than edible.

"Babe."

"What?"

"You're drooling."

"You know how sexy you are in a suit. Can't help it." She smiled and found herself in his warm embrace. It wasn't long before she felt feather-like kisses along her jaw line until his mouth was near her ear.

"You can sexy-me up, but I can't come with you to see Principal Woods, Babe. I have work to do."

-o-o-

The first thing Lester saw on his screen the following morning, well except the desktop image of Israeli model Bar Rafaeli in a very tiny bikini, was the small window on his screen reminding him of a meeting at 0730 in the conference room. Truth be told, he couldn't even remember having a meeting this morning.

_Must be some kind of urgent business,_ he thought, looking through his emails for any clues about the purpose of the meeting. Nothing was on the network regarding any breach of security. Double-checking his phone, Lester saw he hadn't missed anything. He sighed, realizing what it would be about. Another crazy-government-run-in-the-jungle/desert/snow/wha tever, hiding from bullets and bad guys. Looking at his watch, he headed to the gym, needing to relieve a bit of the stress building in his body.

_0728. Conference Room. RangeMan LLC._

Hair still wet, Lester entered the conference room. To his surprise, he saw that he wasn't the only one to have been summoned. He nodded to Tank, Bobby, Woody, Cal and Hector, before taking a seat.

"Someone knows what it's about?" he asked, looking at the faces of the guys sitting around the table.

"Tank?" he asked again, when nobody answered him.

"No."

"Must be something big," Lester mumbled, drawing a map of all the conflicts in the world where RangeMan's special expertise could be needed. _Better not be Afghanistan aga_in, he thought, remembering how bad his last trip to Kandahar had been, and instinctively reaching for the scar on his chest.

At precisely half past seven, the door opened and Ranger made his way inside the room, a file in his hands. He was wearing his usual black cargos and RangeMan shirt, the only color on his attire provided by his thin silvery wedding band. He took the chair between Tank and Lester, and put the file in front of him before looking at the men around the table, looking at each and every one of them directly in the eyes.

"We have a problem."

Lester saw the faces of the men around the table hardening, and knew his was doing the same. And just like the other guys, he waited for Ranger's next words.

Although they weren't what he expected. Not at all.

"I want to know who taught Charlotte to use her fists as a weapon. And I want to know _now_!"

_This is worst than Afghanistan, _thought Lester_. Far worse._ _Can I go to Kandahar, say, right now? _

Nobody moved around the table, the men exchanging glances.

"Apparently, she beat down one of the boys in her class yesterday. And as I didn't teach her how to do it, I assume one of her uncles did. So? Nobody?" Ranger threw the paper in the middle of the table before taking another one out of the file in front of him.

"It has also been brought to my attention that she can pick locks? No clue either, I bet?" He slid the paper across the round table before taking another one.

"Should I mention she knows swear words in Spanish?" Another paper was thrown onto the table

"I will know the names of the responsible parties."

And without another word, Ranger headed out of the conference room.

Tank was the first to break the silence, a few minutes after Ranger's departure, a tight smirk on his mouth.

"I always knew this kid would be brilliant."

-o-o-

"Daddy! You're home!" Ranger couldn't help but smile at the voice of his daughter, running down the stairs to greet him. He knew it wouldn't last, as he and Steph were going to have a serious talk with their eight-year old. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy the warmth of Charlotte pressed against him.

Stephanie was leaning against the kitchen door jamb, taking in her husband and their child hugging one another. Charlotte had her legs around his waist, just like when she was younger, and was covering her dad's cheeks in light kisses.

"Charlotte, can you set the table, sweetie?" asked Steph as soon as Ranger let their daughter go. "Hi handsome, "she told her husband, with a quick kiss on the lips. "Are you okay?"

"No. I'm about to lecture my daughter after I had to lecture the guys. Hell of a day."

"But you can lecture me when we go to bed…"

"Babe." Ranger's eyes turned darker as a small blush appeared on Steph's cheeks.

"Let's go." Taking her hand, he walked his wife into the living room.

"Lotta! Can you come, hermosa?"

"I told you that you shouldn't speak to her in Spanish," whispered Steph in his ear.

"I never taught her such words!"

Charlotte cautiously made her way to the living room, where her parents were already seated on one of the couches. She sat on the armchair in front of them, the pom-poms of her white socks bouncing as she kicked her leg nervously .

Stephanie took a deep breath before starting to speak.

"Charlotte, yesterday Mrs. Woods talked to me about certain things that have happened at school. Apparently, you hit Wesley at playtime? What happened?"

"It's not my fault, mom! He was about to kick Lydia! He wanted her lunchbox! I couldn't let him take it!"

"I know, pumpkin. But why didn't you go to Mrs. Woods or Miss Browlee? You didn't need to fight!"

"But that's what Dad does! I heard Uncle Tank and Uncle Hector talking about it! And they all train at the gym! So why can't I do it?"

Two pairs of eyes turned to Ranger.

"It's not the same, baby. Violence is never a solution. You should have gone to your teachers and told them about this Wesley guy."

"Why? When I'm an adult like you, will I have the right to hit people to keep them from doing bad things? "

Ranger rose from the couch to come closer to Charlotte, taking her hands in his.

"No, sweetheart. You overheard something between Tank and Hector that you shouldn't have heard. And your uncles do train in order to be able not to have to fight. It's part of their jobs. When we work, we always try to find a solution with our words. Hitting someone is never the good choice." _Even if sometimes it's the only choice_, he thought to himself. "Besides, I'm quite sure that if Grandma Helen learns that you beat down a boy, you will be deprived of triple-chocolate cake for a very long time!"

He rose, and turned to sit back on the couch, carefully avoiding looking at Steph who was mouthing "blackmail!".

"But Dad, why do the guys keep fighting at playtime?"

"Because they haven't understood yet that the hitter is not the strongest person. And you know guys, they like to show off," Steph interjected, looking at her daughter. "Now, Mrs. Woods also told me you opened someone else's locker. How did you do that?"

"It's Uncle Lester."

Stephanie felt her husband stiffen beside her, muttering words in Spanish she wished she couldn't understand.

"Sweetie, what does Uncle Lester have to do with that?"

Charlotte sighed before she started speaking. "It was when I lost the key to my Secret Box, you know, the one that Abuela Rosa gave me? "

"The one with the glitter and the dancer on it?"

Charlotte nodded. "It was the day Uncle Lester came to spend the afternoon with me, when you had that thing? A meeting or something. I wanted to show him what I had inside but I couldn't find my key."

"That's because you have to tidy your room, honey. So what happened?"

"I tidy it! But it's so boring! And I'd rather play with Miss Edith and Miss Catherine!"

"You can play with your dolls, sweetie," said Stephanie, "but you also have to clean your room. Now, what did Les do?"

"I really, really wanted to show him something, and couldn't find the key. So he told me he could open it if I gave him the things you put in your hair, you know mum?"

"The hair pins…" muttered Ranger under his breath. He really needed to keep their daughter as far away from RangeMan as possible if he didn't want to see her in juvie before she turned eighteen.

Charlotte's eyes widened, and she nodded her head in agreement. "Yes! So he opened the box, and he showed me how to open it in case I lost my key again. I did nothing wrong!"

Ranger took another deep breath. _I'm going to have a heart attack before she turns eighteen. And she's not even a teenager yet. I'm doomed_. Once calm, he started talking to Charlotte.

"Charlotte, you did nothing wrong when you tried to open your Secret Box. But when you unlock someone else's locker, it's very bad. You just can't go through the belongings of other people… "

"Tony asked for it!"

"Anthony Morelli?" Steph closed her eyes. Not only had their daughter broken into another kid's locker, but it also happened that said locker belonged to Joe Morelli's son. But Ranger kept going.

"Whoever asked for it, you do not do it. Would you like someone breaking into your Secret Box?"

Charlotte vigorously shook her head from right to left.

"You know, you should never do to others what you don't want them to do to you… even if they ask for it. The janitor has a special key that can open anybody's locker. So, next time, even if you know how to open a lock, just don't do it."

"Okay," Charlotte shrugged. "Can we eat now?"

"One more thing, querida. Who taught you all those words in Spanish?" said Ranger.

"I swear if she says Lester again, I'm going to kill him, even if he _is_ my dear cousin," Ranger whispered to Steph.

"It was Abuela Rosa. And Daddy, can we eat now?"

Without waiting for her parents, Charlotte rose from the couch and headed to the table.

Stephanie turned to Ranger, a smirk on her mouth. "Your family. Your mess," she told him, before heading to the kitchen and removing a large pan of lasagna from the oven.

She set it on the table, before going back to grab the salad. Charlotte looked at the warm pan in front of her, before she turned to her mother and asked, "Gran made it, right, Mom?"

Stephanie Plum Manoso sighed and nodded.

* * *

This is a small one-shot that I wrote as a birthday gift for my very dear friend, Dog_in_the_Manger. We spoke one evening about how would Steph and Ranger's child would behave. This was my version… My huge, huge thanks to Highlands-Girl for the beta of the story!

If you liked it, please hit the button and let me know …


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